HIGH gas prices forced many Jamaicans to change their travel plans for the Easter holiday weekend.
A Jamaica Observer online poll shows that seven in 10 persons altered plans this weekend because of fuel costs. Almost 50 per cent of respondents say gas prices completely curtailed planned activities, nearly a third claim it was “somewhat influential” while just over a fourth boasts that their plans were not impacted at all.
The Easter holiday weekend kicked off on Good Friday and runs up to Easter Monday. Many Jamaicans traditionally travel to visit family and friends out of town or flock to parties in resort areas such as Ocho Rios and Negril. But record-high petroleum prices this year have threatened celebrations, with refinery prices for e10 87 and e10 90 gasoline having both risen by more than $13 a litre since the start of the year.
Taneisha Lewis, a public relations officer based in Kingston, shelved her usual holiday weekend plans because of high gas prices.
“Well, it has ruined it. I had to cancel my plan to visit family out of town,” she told Sunday Finance.
Lewis opted to “stay home and watch TV” instead of taking the costly journey in her sedan to see her relatives on the north coast.
The travel plans of St Catherine-based teacher Luther Davis suffered a similar setback. Davis, his wife and two children would usually take a ride in his station wagon to visit family in western Jamaica over the Easter weekend, but those plans were cancelled because of high fuel costs, he said.
“Gas prices have been impacting my life significantly, I would say, over the past year,” revealed Davis.
The teacher disclosed that the family has had to cut back on travelling by car significantly because of the rising petrol prices. He highlighted specifically that he no longer provides a lift by car to his wife